BorimSeon ; Baekbong's Zen
Borim(寶林)
Baekbong called the place where he preached the Dharma, Borim Seonwon, the gathering of his followers, Borim Society, and his own Zen, Borim Seon. He named them because he admired the Sixth Patriarch Huineng of China, who preached the Dharma at Borim Temple. Baekbong lived an ignorant life, completely unaware of Buddhism, until he get into Buddhism at the age of 55. So he compared his own path to Huineng's, and he often emphasized that 'the knowledge of Buddhism is not helpful to enlightenment, and even hinder it'. He often quoted Huineng's teachings, which directly convey the highest path.
Three Gates to Borim
Baekbong made 3 questions that test the insight level of followers. At the end of the seven-day no-sleep retreat in summer and winter season, he urged followers to submit answers for the three questions. The one whose answers reached a certain level was recognized.
In a place where there is no going or coming,
what is the living and what is the dead?
In a place where there is no law outside the mind,
What is the ignorant? What is the enlightened?
In a place where you and I are empty,
What is the speaker and what is the listener?
Baekbong disclosed his answers for those questions
In a place where there is no going or coming,
what is the living and what is the dead?
Mount Tai comes with its eyes wide open,
and the green waters goes with its ears covered.
In a place where there is no law outside the mind,
What is the ignorant and what is the enlightened?
The grass on the old path grows by itself,
both righteousness and wrongness are not used.
In a place where you and I are empty,
what is the speaker and what is the listener?
If discussing today's affairs,
you will suddenly forget the person in the past.
Five Disciplines of Borim
The five disciplines can be seen as the rules of Borim Seonwon, or as ethics that must be observed while living in the world as a followers, but in reality, they reveal the fundamental source of those displines, the seat of the mind, absoluteness, and the place without color, sound, or smell.
Silence
As rivers and mountains are in serene silence, right and wrong are cut off.
Ordinary people and sages alike play the flute without holes.
A straightforward mind
A straightforward mind can obtain news from primordial age.
The iron flower blooms on the branches of the past year.
Neat
It is neat and tidy, and it is perfect and bright.
The copper bird shakes its head and suddenly flies in.
Cleannness
Where is the clean place?
There are three in front and, also three in back.
Harmony
Harmony among people, harmony within the family, and harmony throughout the world.
A stone horse run a hundred thousand miles.
Three Zens, Seven Phrases
Baekbong preached that every follower should have one's identity and one's distinctive zen. As an example he revealed his zen named Borim seon(zen), with three zens and seven phrases.
What is the Tathagata's seon(如來禪)?
Not storing even a single grain of rice,
Not growing even a single stalk of vegetable.
What is the Patriarch's seon(祖師禪)?
They had a sword that kills people, and also saves people,
Head and tail of a tiger are taken at once.
What is Borim Seon(寶林禪)?
A word falls, it does not stick,
The boundless clear wind rolls away the great land.
What is the first phrase?(最初句)?
From the boundless void, a phrase come,
As a scarecrow steps on the ground, a large, round mirror is revealed.
What is the end phrase(末後句)?
A man has an eye on a finger tip,
makes form and sound at the same time.
What is the upward phrase(向上句)?
The arrow leaves the bowstring and does not return,
The moon is bright and illuminates a traveler.
What is the downward phrase(向下句)?
The wise man eats rice from a bottomless bowl,
the foolish man listens to the sound of a zither without strings.
What is a Commendable phrase(奇特句)?
By raising one, three revealed,
Suddenly, the head of a stone tiger is broken.
What is the phrase that turns the body(轉身句)?
After changing the tongues of the people of the world,
I turn to the left and to the right on my own.
What is the phrase outside the realm(格外句)?
Having eyes and having ears, but it is like being deaf and blind,
How many people in heaven and on earth know?
